MUSIC
Temptations sing with Symphony Pops

Even though our article on the Temptations ran last week, the group's concerts with the Honolulu Symphony Pops continue this weekend at the Blaisdell Concert Hall.

You have to admit, the pairing of one of Motown's most beloved vocal groups with the pops orchestra is a perfect one.

Musical director Matt Catingub promised in his "Crescendo" column Monday that "we'll put the power of our great orchestra behind all those unforgettable Temptations melodies. The string section will have some romantic moments as we revisit the Temptations' love songs, and the horns will have a blast, so to speak, with pop songs."

It all starts 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $12 to $75. Call the symphony box office at 792-2000 or visit www.honolulusymphony.com.

FAMILY
Tomorrow is deadline for Lunalilo party tickets

Tomorrow is the last day to purchase tickets for the party celebrating the 172nd anniversary of the birth of King Mo'i William Charles Lunalilo.

Holunape and Melveen Leed will provide the entertainment while attendees dine on kalua pig, lomi salmon, chicken long rice, squid luau, laulau, raw crab, poke, sweet potato, poi, haupia and pineapple. Juice and water will also be provided.

If that made you ono for Hawaiian food but you can't make the event, no worries. Take-out plates are available but you must by your ticket ASAP.

Free parking and shuttle service will be provided at Kaiser High School. The money will benefit the programs, furnishings and equipment for the kupuna at Lunalilo Home.

Tickets are $30. Call Dawn, 395-1000.

TV
2 stations air Steve Irwin's last project

The Discovery Channel will be airing repeats of several of Steve Irwin's "The Crocodile Hunter" shows Sunday before airing "Ocean's Deadliest," a 90-minute documentary that Irwin was filming when he died last fall.

Irwin and oceanographer Philippe Cousteau, grandson of Jacques Cousteau, explored the waters between the Gold Coast and the Great Barrier Reef.

"The Crocodile Hunter" episodes begin at 1:30 p.m. with "Island of Snakes," a trip into Sri Lanka, which has one of the highest incidents of snake bites in the world. Then, at 2:30 p.m., Irwin visits the "Tigers of Shark Bay," followed by "Search for a Super Crocodile" and "Confessions of the Crocodile Hunter."

At 6 p.m., "Ocean's Deadliest" will be aired on the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet followed by a half-hour tribute to Irwin featuring his wife, Terri, family and friends.

"Ocean's Deadliest" and the Irwin tribute repeats throughout the night on both channels.

CULTURE
Canoes paddle into the Maritime Center

Most of us have come to know the voyaging tradition that is so much a part of Hawaii's heritage. The Hawaii Maritime Center expands that knowledge beyond our boundaries with "The Canoe: An Alaskan and Polynesian Tradition."

The exhibit, which opens Friday, compares Hawaiian and Alaskan canoeing traditions. It also celebrates the current voyage of the Hokule'a to the western Pacific and the island nations of Micronesia and Japan. The Hawai'i Maritime Center is Hokule'a's home when it is not at sea.

FOOD
Matsugen

255 Beach Walk, Unit 2 / 926-0255

In a time when anyone can throw up a Web site and become an instant expert, the idea of an apprenticeship, taking time to hone one's craft before angling for the spotlight, seems like a quaint anachronism. So it is a real treat to visit Matsugen, a soba izakaya in Waikiki, where diners can absorb the entire soba-making process and sample the result.

Near the restaurant's entrance is a grinding machine with a stone mill that turns buckwheat into fresh flour. At various times of the day, soba maker Shingo Chibano can be seen turning the flour into dough, and folding and hand-cutting it into even strips.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
After buckwheat is ground into flour, soba maker Shingo Chibano makes his dough and rolls it out into thin, even sheets in a demonstration area in Matsugen's dining room.

Those with the greatest interest in soba will start with an order of mori soba ($7.80) served cold on a bamboo tray with a dipping sauce of dashi, mirin and shoyu, alongside a dab of wasabi and sliced scallions. This allows you to savor the soba's freshness and al dente texture you don't get with packaged noodles.

Also popular are a trio of Mount Fuji Lava Rock selections of beef tongue ($16.50), marbled beef ($18.50) and salmon ($14.50).

Open 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:30 to 10 p.m. daily. Dinner is about $35 to $45 for two without drinks.

BOOKSHELF
Picture book promotes bond between keiki and kupuna

Native Books Na Mea Hawaii is launching a new book for children to read with their grandparents. "Kai the Opihi Gets the Point" promotes the importance of intergenerational wisdom and the Hawaiian value of hoomau, or perseverance. The colorful picture book, written by Gail Omoto and Jan and Judy Dill, and illustrated by Garrett Omoto, includes a read-along CD.

A book launch, with readings, music and "ono pupu," takes place at the Ward Warehouse Na Mea store from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday.

The book is part of "Tutu and Me," a free mobile preschool program under the auspices of the nonprofit Partners in Development Foundation.